Posted by stelpavlou on Jan 6, 2009 in life, science
How would you stop an asteroid from smashing into our little planet? If you have a practical idea, then people who know how to get things done want to hear from you. Seriously.
The Space Studies Board – in coordination with the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board of the National Research Council – has put in gear a two-part study on Near-Earth Objects, or NEOs for short.
A blue-ribbon group of experts has been selected to address issues concerning the detection, tracking, and characterization of NEOs – and approaches to mitigating identified hazards.
This committee has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to solicit ideas to survey, detect and characterize NEOs, as well as potential mission concepts for deflection/mitigation of Earth-smacking objects.
Those wishing to submit their schemes may draw upon the use of different facilities – ground- or space-based – and/or involve international cooperation in their proposed solutions.
The deadline for ideas is March 20, 2009.
A Letter of Intent to file an idea must be submitted by Jan. 30, 2009.
Posted by stelpavlou on Jan 5, 2009 in life, politics
As the Israel-Gaza conflict burns ferociously, the old adage that the first casualty of war is the truth, has never been more well, er… true.
Unless we’re actually there, we’re at the mercy of the media, and in 2009, any idiot who can put up a blog (yes, that includes me)
A new video started circulating yesterday of Palestinian civilians apparently killed by an Israeli air-strike. It’s utterly sickening with its carnage.
If you want to see the video you’ll need a strong stomach.
The problem is, it’s not true.
It’s actually footage from 2005, of a Hamas parade, where the Hamas rocket truck exploded and killed 15 civilians. Someone did a comparison with stills from a CBS news article that showed the same scenes with the same people.
So in this age of information overload, question everything. And take it all with a grain of salt. For your own sanity if nothing else.
Posted by stelpavlou on Jan 4, 2009 in film industry
Matt Smith has been announced to replace David Tennant as Doctor Who.
And already fandom is ripping the poor guy a new arsehole.
Do I have reservations? Of course. The same way I had reservations about David Tennant, or Daniel Craig as James Bond at first. It’s only natural. But good grief people. Let the kid (and since he’s 12 years younger than me I get to call him kid) let the kid do his thing, then judge.
But has it not occurred to anyone that this opens up all sorts of story implications that Who hasn’t touched before? Think about it, how frustrating will it be to have nearly a thousand years of knowledge and experience and no one takes you seriously because you look like a kid and have no gravitas? Very frustrating I’d imagine, and quite hilarious at times.
You know sometimes predicting things can be a little unnerving.
Scientists have found two large leaks in Earth’s magnetosphere, the region around our planet that shields us from severe solar storms.
The leaks are defying many of scientists’ previous ideas on how the interaction between Earth’s magnetosphere and solar wind occurs: The leaks are in an unexpected location, let in solar particles in faster than expected and the whole interaction works in a manner that is completely the opposite of what scientists had thought.
The findings have implications for how solar storms affect the our planet. Serious storms, which involved charged particles spewing from the sun, can disable satellites and even disrupt power grids on Earth.
The new observations “overturn the way that we understand how the sun’s magnetic field interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field,” said David Sibeck of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., during a press conference today at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.
The bottom line: When the next peak of solar activity comes, in about 4 years, electrical systems on Earth and satellites in space may be more vulnerable.
Oh don’t worry, it gets worse…
This finding not only has implications for scientists’ understanding of the interaction between the sun and Earth’s magnetosphere, but for predicting the effects to Earth during the next peak in the solar cycle.
The Sun operates on an 11-year cycle, alternating between active and quiet periods. We are currently in a quiet period, with few sunspots on the sun’s surface and fewer solar flares, though the next cycle of activity has begun. It is expected to peak around 2012, bringing lots of sunspots, flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). CMEs can interact with the Earth’s magnetosphere, causing problems for satellites, communications, and power grids.
This upcoming active period now looks like it will be more intense than the previous one, which peaked around 2006, some scientists think. The reason is the changes in the sun’s alignment.
During the last peak, solar fields hitting the Earth were first anti-aligned then aligned. Anti-aligned fields can energize particles, but in this case, the energy came before the particles themselves, which doesn’t create much of a fuss in terms of geomagnetic storms and disruptions.
But the next cycle will see aligned, then anti-aligned fields, in theory amplifying the effects of the storms as they hit.
Raeder likens the difference to igniting a gas stove one of two ways: In the first way, the gas is turned on and the stove is lit and you get a flame. In the other way, you let the gas run for awhile, so that when you add the gas you get a much bigger boom.
“It should be that we’re in for a tough time in the next 11 years,” Sibeck said.
Posted by stelpavlou on Nov 25, 2008 in film industry
Most people know what a huge Star Trek geek I am. Y’know, aside from Star Wars, Doctor Who, BSG, etc. For me the Kirk era is the best, always has been. We’re talking archetype storytelling.So this new movie is hitting all the right buttons for me.
The new design for the Starship Enterprise came out and though it took a little getting used to I ended up falling in love with it and so I got in touch with the amazing Ryan Church to congratulate him on his design. You’ll know his work from the Star Wars prequels, Transformers and the soon to to be Avatar. I’m talking to Ryan about the possibility of teaming up with him for something next year, his schedule permitting.
I also learned this week that a very good friend of mine (who I won’t name) is working with a star of the new Trek movie (who I won’t name) and they’re getting a preview of the entire movie on Dec 5th. And I can’t get an invite. It makes me all weepy
I’ve refrained from posting glowing, excited posts about the election of Barack Obama because, well, I’ve never had much doubt that he’d be elected since late 2007, early 2008. I like his cool, steady demeanor, and as such, I’m in agreement that now is the time to work on solving problems, rather than basking in the moment.
Obama has a new website called change.gov where ordinary people are encouraged to submit their ideas for the forward direction of the administration. Frankly, it would be easy to sit down and write thirty pages without blinking, so I decided to list four things that I think are important. Two of them are interlinked, as should be obvious.
I urge everyone to take advantage of submitting their ideas. Priorities are based on consensus, and the more people participate, the better.
1. A Truth and Reconciliation Commission on the Iraq War.
If we want to seriously end partisan fighting, then much as it pains me to say it, pursuing criminal actions of Republicans from the Bush administration may foster animosity for a generation. Besides, many Democrats went along with them. South Africa held a truth and Reconciliation Commission so that the truth could come out without fear of retaliation in order to encourage healing. By any measure it was painful, but highly successful. This may be just the tonic for learning from the mistakes of the war and uniting the country.
2. Negotiate New Geneva Conventions to include Terrorism.
The problem facing America is that there is no set guideline for what terrorism is, and how it should be countered. The Geneva Conventions do not cover terrorism and do not indicate whether it is a civil or military matter. This must be addressed or it will remain a gray area ripe with the potential for abuse.
3. Consider an extra-Judicial system for dealing exclusively with terrorists.
There may be no way to adequately deal with terrorists in civil or military courts. There may need to be a new type of hearing that determines whether a case is terrorist related, and if so, the case passes into a new system designed specifically to deal with such a case. Because of the sensitive security issues at stake, it may have to operate in secrecy like a Grand Jury. This is unpalatable, and strict oversight needs to be included. But unless this is addressed, the courts will continue to struggle.
4. Rebuild New Orleans, (also speed up building of Freedom Tower.)
I don’t mean just rebuild the houses, I’m thinking of something on such a grand scale that it leaves the rest of the world in awe. Consider Kansai International Airport, in Japan. Built on an entirely man-mad island. What if devastated areas of New Orleans were raised to above sea-level? Perhaps in several areas, like shelter islands, so if the city was flooded again, certain areas would act as local safe havens, and the streets would turn into canals. It’s expensive and would take a lot of manpower. What good would it do? Three things. It would create jobs in a public works program. It would foster a sense of national pride in the achievement, and it would be a powerful symbol to both the country and the rest of the world. Symbols are important. Great leaders build great things.
